There are two kinds of swallows that regularly hang out near our pond. Both species are aerial insectivores, which means they are so agile they can eat and drink all they need while flying. They “swallow" food with their mouth open as they soar through a group of flying insects. They dip their beaks to sip water as they glide low over a pond or lake. They eat mosquitoes, flies, grasshoppers, beetles, moths and other flying insects in mid air. Small birds with long wings, they can make sharp turns at high speeds in order to catch hundreds of insects each day. Swallows are most often a welcome sight with their voracious appetite for flying insects – a good mosquito control method.
Tree Swallows
Tachycineta bicolor are iridescent blue with a white front and underparts nest in cavities . . . old woodpecker holes or a nestbox like Bluebirds.
The Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica has a deeply forked tail, dark feathers and rust colored throat and under parts. This 6" long bird lives in farmlands, suburbs, and wetlands. Because they make nests of mud in barns, on ledges, or under eaves, the location of their nests sometimes make them a pest.
Photo below: Barn Swallow
